(August 3, 2005) -- The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday that for the third consecutive year they will host an international team as part of their eight-game preseason schedule. The Raptors will welcome two-time defending Euroleague champion Maccabi Tel Aviv to Air Canada Centre on Sunday, October 16. Maccabi has won five European club titles and finished second on six occasions. The club has won 45 of a possible 51 domestic league titles since 1954.

“We are excited to play host to a team with such a proud tradition,” said Raptors general manager Rob Babcock. “They are returning many players from last season’s championship team which should make for an exciting contest.”

On Monday, October 24, Toronto will be the home team against the Portland Trail Blazers in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This marks the franchise’s 14th appearance in a Canadian city outside of Toronto for a preseason contest. This will be the team’s second visit to Winnipeg, having played there in its inaugural season in 1995 downing Vancouver 98-77 on October 21 in front of 11,203 fans at Winnipeg Arena.

The Raptors will also have home games at Air Canada Centre against Utah, New Jersey and Boston. They will play Cleveland in Columbus, Ohio and the Trail Blazers in Portland.

For information on discounted group tickets for Raptors preseason games, interested parties should call (416) 815-DUNK (3865).

The Raptors’ 2005-06 regular season schedule will be released Monday, August 8.

2005 Toronto Raptors Preseason Schedule:
Date	Opponent	Site	City	Time (ET)
Wed., Oct. 12	Utah	Air Canada Centre	Toronto	7:00 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 14	Boston	Verizon Wireless Arena	Manchester, NH	7:30 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 16	Maccabi (Israel)	Air Canada Centre	Toronto	1:00 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 19	New Jersey	Air Canada Centre	Toronto	7:00 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 21	Boston	Air Canada Centre	Toronto	7:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 23	Cleveland	Nationwide Arena	Columbus, OH	6:00 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 24	Portland	MTS Centre - Get Tickets	Winnipeg, MB	8:00 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 26	Portland	Rose Garden	Portland	10:00 p.m.